Sonic Adventure 2
This is an alternate version of Sonic Adventure 2, which I did as a writing
exercise. The plot differs extremely from the established storyline, but it
did for the STC Sonic Adventure as well (I haven't played the game, so the
characters may not all be in character.) Most characters are © Sega.
Part 6: The Whole World in His Hands
The ARK space station tumbled lazily through its orbit, shining silver against inky space. The station itself was a large sphere, circled by a cluster of cylinders and cubes. A tiny rocket protruded from the station, like a thorn in its side. Another, smaller ship flittered past it, disappearing into the mass of metal.
"We're in." Said Sonic, looking around the landing bay. It was just a dull grey cave, with a small lift in the wall. He found his eyes constantly darting up, towards the main base. "This way." He said, with a weird, inexplicable certainty.
Tekno looked at him, doubtfully. "How do you know?"
"It is." Affirmed a voice behind Sonic. He turned around in surprise. Knuckles bashed his fists together, staring around, alert. "Do you think Robotnik can see us?"
"Probably." Tekno pointed to the small, capsule-like lift. "If you two are right, that's the way to go."
Shadow was sitting on his bed, restlessly. His quarters were tiny, just a bed, a small white table and chair, a clock and a bookcase. The only door was locked.
Doctor Gerald had locked him in here six nights in a row, now. Every night, Shadow would pace and wonder, never able to sleep. Every morning, when the clock read: 09:00, the door would flick open and Gerald would enter in his white coat, and Shadow would walk out to face the trials of the day.
The first day had been the most uncertain. The human, Gerald, had taken him to a larger, plastic room, and asked him who he was and what he was. Shadow had answered, the knowledge materializing in his head. He could not say how he knew, and Gerald had not asked him. The second day they had made him run an obstacle course, and destroy many robots. The third day, they had showed him a glittering Chaos Emerald, and he had drawn power from it. Names and terms sprang to Shadow's mind every time he looked at something, and he began to understand what was happening.
He was being tested, he realised, by Gerald and the other scientists. He realised that he had powers they didn't, that he could run fast, and manipulate the energy in the bizarre, sparkling Chaos Emerald. He realised that the scientists did not know that he realised this.
He also realised that no one knew how powerful he could be. He had decided to find out.
And he had. He concentrated, felt the warm energy roaring inside him. and forced it all back into himself. He saw a flash of green, and the room changed position; he was now standing the other side of it. Teleportation, that was his special power. The ultimate control of Chaos energy.
He looked at his clock. 01:12. The middle of the night, when Gerald would be asleep. He gathered his energy again, and focussed on the other side of the door.
With a flash he was there. The corridor was lit only with a ghostly blue light, and shadows danced along the familiar path to Gerald's lab. Shadow found himself walking there unconsciously, and he stopped at the door.
A whole new sense of freedom dawned on him. He did not have to enter the lab, he could go where he wanted and no one could stop him. He ignored the door, and explored further down the corridor. It was filled with hundreds more, identical doors, each one could lead anywhere.
Shadow walked past them all, and found a lift at the end of the hall. With shaking hands he pushed the 'Floor 12' button, and jerked in shock as the pod shut, trapping him. The ground rolled beneath him, and he remembered what a lift was.
But he didn't remember it. He had never learnt it before. He resolved to find out where these memories came from.
The lift opened again, and he stepped into a wider corridor. A sign on the wall read: 'Residential Block'. He cautiously investigated further. There were fewer doors here, and they had windows. Shadow could see the scientists sleeping.
He was near the end of the hallway when the door in front of him opened. Panic hissed through him, but he had no time to hide; the hazy blue walkway offered no cover.
A human walked out of the room, and stopped dead. They stared at each other, fear thick inside them.
The human was a small girl, about Shadow's age. She wore dull green pyjamas and had bare feet. Shadow couldn't see her face in the darkness, but she had long, black hair. She spoke, her voice quaking with terror. Shadow realised that, with his unnatural black body and red eyes, he must look like a monster.
"Wh-What- who is that?"
He voice was quiet and timid. Shadow wondered who she was. She wasn't a scientist, and who else lived here?
She asked again, this time the fear and panic was strong in her voice. "Who is it? What do you want?" she raised a fist, nervously.
Shadow waited, couldn't trust himself to speak. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." He was painfully aware of how menacing his sinister voice sounded in the semi-dark.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" She swung a torch out, the beam blinding Shadow, pinpointing him in place. The human advanced, carefully. "You're a hedgehog. How did you get inside?"
Blind and confused, Shadow could think of no answer but honesty. "I-I don't know."
"Come out of the corridor, you might get caught." She showed Shadow into her room. It was much bigger then his, with tonnes of books, and a computer collecting dust in the corner. She switched a small glowlamp on. "My name's Maria. What's yours?"
"My name's Shadow. I-" he paused, but he felt that he could trust Maria. "I escaped from the science lab downstairs."
"Shadow.Shadow.You're Grandad's project, aren't you?"
Shadow could only nod, confused. Finally he said: "I am?"
"Yeah. He's been talking about you for weeks. Don't worry, I won't tell him." She added, seeing his concern. "So what's it like?"
"Weird. I just have to do these tests every day, and then I'm locked back in my room. There's not much else, really." Shadow became curious. " What are you doing here? You're not a scientist."
"I'm Doctor Gerald's granddaughter. I had to stay here after my parents disappeared. Grandad's given me loads of books and stuff to do, but it's really boring here. There's no one else to talk to."
A sharp bleep shattered Shadow's reminiscing. Robotnik's bushy face appeared on his watch-screen. His voice was flattened in the transmission, but there was no mistaking the urgency in it.
"Shadow! Rouge! We have intruders. Wherever you are, get up to the Control Room now. It should be ready in ten minutes-we have to hold Sonic and his crew off 'til then."
Shadow jogged back through the familiar passages. Nothing would stop him now, Maria would be avenged.
Discomfort twanged inside him. Was he doing the right thing? Of course he was. He had to be.
Shadow did not head straight to the Control Room. He had things to do first.
Sonic gaped in awe. The Control Room was a massive white hall, lined with terminals and control panels, all of them running automatically. A wide band of window circled the entire room, showing hundreds of tiny burning stars. In the centre of the hall was the mammoth Eclipse Cannon, on top of what appeared to be a lift capsule. Robotnik stood by it, with some bat. The egg- man turned, glaring at his enemy. His voice was a dagger of hate.
"Sonic! Popped around to save the day again, have you? Well you're too late- its mounted and ready to fire, and there's nothing you can do."
Knuckles was glaring at the bat, angrily. The two were talking but Sonic wasn't paying attention. Robotnik continued.
"Don't bother trying to smash it, Sonic, Gerald's shielding method's were ingeniously effective. Soon I will rule this planet once more!"
"You wish!"
"Oh, but I will! Any zone that dares to resist will be pulverised." Robotnik grinned. "I think that South Island will be the first to go." Before Sonic realised what he'd done, Robotnik had typed in the co- ordinates and stabbed the 'FIRE' button.
The gang watched in horror as the massive gun began to shudder. Power arced around its barrel, along the thick wires and cables, exploding inside the Emerald's containers like a miniscule fireworks display. Robotnik laughed maniacally.
"Watch and weep, outlaws, as your home is obliterated!"
Tekno yelled, over the hollering of the machine. "Robotnik, are you mad? Look at the power readings! That thing fires, it'll take out half the solar system!"
Comprehension dawned gradually on Robotnik's face.
"Whaaat! But-but Shadow said." Realisation struck home. "SHADOW!"
The dazzling strip-lights died, plunging the room in darkness. A black blur shot like an arrow into the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow the Hedgehog stabbed a series of controls, and turned away, to face the others. "Controls locked. Ten minutes until firing."
Shortfuse bellowed. "You'll kill us all! What the hell are you doing?"
"I'll tell you what he's doing." Everyone turned. Rouge the Bat pulled a stocky metal disc from her green denim jacket. "I found this in Shadow's bag." Glowering at the hedgehog, she switched it on.
A large holographic image appeared in the air above her, focussing into a head.
Dr Gerald Kintobor hovered, his silver moustache spraying white light over them all.
"I am Kintobor, and these are my final words. My scientists are scheduled to be executed today, and the military have located my hiding place. I have two hours before they arrive.
"Why? Because the fools of this world are afraid of my work. For months, I have dreamed of reaching the boundaries of natural ability, of creating the world's ultimate life form. I began my project by trying to breach reality, to build a creature that could defy the laws of physics. After many failures, I produced a cat, called Simpson. However, further study proved that the animal was underdeveloped in its control of its power.
"Then I found what true power was. My son had found seven ancient stones, containing a strange new energy. This so-called 'Chaos' energy was the key to my success. I created a creature capable of manipulating it, named Shadow the Hedgehog.
"Everything was a glorious triumph, until the military, G.U.N., found out about my plan. Cowardly fearing anything that could possibly harm them, they told me to destroy my findings. I refused, and they attacked my installation, killing hundreds of people. I managed to evacuate myself, my granddaughter Maria and Shadow to one of my older projects, a space colony, ARK. I hoped that there we could live in safety, but it was not to be.
"G.U.N. attacked my station, murdering my granddaughter. Shadow and I escaped, and went into hiding. I now understood the evil of this world, and, though I was likely to die, I would bring it to an end. I have designed and built one final invention. A gun that will destroy the entire planet.
"Shadow, I have sent you into cryogenic sleep and disguised the chamber. That way G.U.N. will not destroy you. I have told you all this because I do not know if you will retain your memory when you wake up.
"Shadow, you are to find the Eclipse Cannon. There is a map showing where it is in the chamber. Find the Eclipse Cannon, and activate it. Destroy this evil planet once and for all."
The image blurred, and disappeared. A thick silence settled slowly.
Questions and answers careered in a whirlpool in everyone's brain. Simultaneously, the maelstrom crystallised into one clear point: The planet was destroyed in ten minutes.
"C'mon, guys. We have to smash this gun now, before it can shoot!" Sonic yelled. As if in response, the Cannon spoke in a smooth, synthesised voice.
"Calculations complete. Proceeding to aiming point." The Cannon suddenly twitched, and its makeshift pedestal whirred to life, firing up through the ceiling with Chaos enhanced power. It left a jagged hole.
Sonic wasted no time; Amy saw the blue blur demolish a door without stopping to open it. She saw Knuckles begin to follow.
"Knuckles," Amy turned to see the white bat that had stolen Gerald's recording. "We'd do better to follow it through the hole." Knuckles regarded her doubtfully, then agreed. She grabbed his hand. "Hold on."
The bat flew straight up, chasing the Eclipse Cannon. Tekno and Shortfuse had charged to another door, but Robotnik was in the way.
"Don't go that way. We need to intercept it, follow me."
"What? Why should we trust you?" Somehow, amidst all the mayhem, Robotnik found the time to impale them with a contemptuous sneer.
"Look, fool. If the world gets blown to bits, what have I got left to rule?" Before she'd even drawn her crossbow, Amy found herself alone. Nearly alone.
Shadow stood, a silhouette by the window, gazing out into space. He watched, numbly, as the countless pinpoints lit up the void. Every now and then, a comet would streak across the starscape, dying into the blackness. Maria's last words ricocheted insistently inside his head.
A rustle betrayed someone behind him. He turned, dully. It was Sonic's friend, the pink hedgehog. He would have said something insulting, or triumphant, but he did not have the energy. He did not feel triumphant. He felt uneasy, and weary, sick of this planet, this life.
"Shadow? Why are you doing this?"
Shadow scowled. "You heard the tape, didn't you?"
"You're destroying the world, just because Gerald told you to?" She scowled too. "That's pathetic. If you were any match of Sonic's, you'd stand up for yourself."
"I'm not doing this for Kintobor." Shadow turned back to the window, so she didn't see his expression. "Maria asked me to."
Sonic's friend thought for a moment. "Maria. Gerald's granddaughter?" Shadow nodded. Then, for some reason, he spoke again.
"She was my only friend in that place, and I'll do what she asked."
There was a short, difficult silence.
"She didn't tell you to do this, surely." Shadow was about to answer, but stopped. Maria's last cry for revenge.
"Look, I know the humans did evil things to you, but they only live in a tiny piece of the world. The rest of us didn't do anything wrong."
Shadow wasn't really listening. The last word.REVENGE. it had been Gerald's voice.
"We aren't humans. We don't kill just for fun. We hate anyone's death as much as you hated Maria's."
Suddenly, understanding shattered into Shadow. He remembered Maria's death, mentally removing Gerald's voiceover.
Her voice grew fainter. "Shadow. please, look after grandpa. Don't let them get him, too. And." She struggled, her final words a murmur. "If you survive.do your best.see that..the world has."
Her voice faded out to a sigh, "..the world ..has.. protection..Don't let.. something. like this ever happen ..again."
Shadow drew a long, halting breath; Amy stopped her speech, apprehensive. Very slowly, Shadow said:
"Ohh.Heck!" Suddenly, he was off down a corridor. He had to stop the Cannon. there must be a way.
Shadow tore up a flight of stairs like black lightning. He would fulfil Maria's wish.
Sonic was halfway up a blurred hallway, when a sable shape drew level.
"Need a hand, Sonic?"
Sonic glanced over in surprise. "Shadow! But you-"
"Your girlfriend persuaded me to help."
"Look, pal. She is not my girlfriend."
"Sure looks like it to me. We need to get to the top floor. Ready?"
"As ever."
There were two jade explosions, two yells of: "Chaos Control!" and the stairway was empty.
Sonic and Shadow appeared, just in time to see their target poke its head through the floor. Sonic screamed in anger, he and Shadow spin attacked straight towards the gun. Sonic found himself bashed roughly backwards, unravelling and hitting the floor in surprise. His back and spines ached insistently, refusing to quieten down.
"Attackers recorded. Initiating Defence System Alpha." The Eclipse Cannon was now hiding inside a hazy blue bubble. The machine continued its ascent, climbing slowly but surely to the roof, which would open into nothing but space.
"We have to stop it!" Shadow picked himself up from the other side of the storage room, sitting on a heap of plastic food containers. Robotnik and Shortfuse burst in from the door next to him.
"We'll handle this, stay back!" and the two enemies began firing bolt after bolt into the shield. Each bolt refracted, disappearing in a kaleidoscope of scarlet light. Tekno ran through the door, followed by Amy.
The gun continued to rise. It was now level with the floor. "You lot'll never beat it like that. Hang on a minute."
Tekno stabbed a series of controls on her little box, and the shield spluttered, collapsing in on the gun, fading out like mist.
"Defences breached. Activating Aggressive Defence Beta." A cobalt blue laser shot knocked the box out of Tekno's hands, the few remains scattered to the floor. Dozens of small gun turrets had emerged from inside the structure. Suddenly the room was a madhouse of blue and red.
Sonic crouched at the corner of the room, not yet targeted by the Cannon. Irritation welled up. What was Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius doing hiding on the edge of a fight? Sonic saw one of the tiny cannons at the base of the gun, and with a whirl of blue and spikes, it was a crumpled mess.
Shadow grinned, following Sonic's example. Robotnik and Shortfuse continued to distract the machine while the two hedgehogs took out the defences.
"Hurry up!" called Amy, taking out another little turret with her crossbow. "At this rate, we won't make it in time."
She was right; the machine was nearly touching the roof now. Under it, Knuckles' face was gritted in intense anger as he and Rouge hung on to the lift/pedestal. They were fruitlessly hammering the capsule, unable to stop it. "Knuckles!" Tekno yelled. "You two! Get the Emeralds out of the containers. We'll all cover for you."
Knuckles heard Tekno, and let go of the elevator, gliding to the ground. Rouge landed next to him, her wing hanging at an odd angle. He felt guilty about hurting her, but she didn't comment.
"Knuckles, you take the right side, I'll do the left. Watch out, those cables are electrified." Knuckles obediently jogged to the nearest case. He stamped on a mini gun tower, his solid shoes mashing it. He ducked as another shot whizzed over his head to join the pandemonium behind him.
The Emeralds were set around the circular swivel, each jar attached to two thick wires, which ran up to the giant barrel.
He struggled to grab the power cord attacked to the casing; his padded gloves made gripping difficult. Knuckles ripped the ropes off the metal surface, roaring as the Emerald's container shattered around his other fist. The glasslike plastic bounced off his thick fur, the red Emerald fell to the ground with a clink.
One down, six to go. A black power outlet dissolved in flames next to him. He turned to see Shortfuse give a thumbs up.
Sonic smashed another gun tower. "Enjoying yourself?" asked Knuckles.
"Yep. Bad luck, you got the boring job." Sonic leapt away, yelling: "You never were as stylish as yours truly!"
"Speedfreak!" Knuckles tore out a rung from a ladder embedded in the base. "Let's see you do this, hedgehog!" Dodging a volley of lasers, Knuckles hurled the crude boomerang. It splintered into the next Emerald jar, the electrified force field cascading white lightning across it. The stick hit the Emerald, spinning around its round top and hurtling towards the next case.
From the other side of the room, Sonic whistled as the rod smashed around the gun, freeing four Emeralds. It continued, narrowly missing Rouge. "Watch it!"
Knuckles smirked triumphantly at Sonic, then became serious. They were still saving the world, no matter how much they mucked around. Rouge ran up, surveying Knuckles' work. "Good. Now we've just got that thing to worry about." The echidna looked up, to see the Master Emerald. It was hanging from the barrel of the Cannon, flailing on the end of just a couple of shabby cables. Robotnik had been very rushed to attach the jewel.
"Leave that to us." Sonic dived under a salvo of blue bolts, rolled, and came up next to Shadow. The two hedgehogs ran, falling into blue and black razorblades. They sped passed Knuckles like motorbikes, slicing the Master Emerald free in an instant.
The racket of battle withered and died.
Realisation dawned, melting into ecstasy. "We won! We Won!"
Sonic and Shadow leapt in the air, performing a flying high five and flipping 360 degrees to the ground.
Shortfuse and Robotnik fired a four-gun salute, into the ceiling.
Rouge grabbed Knuckles' hands, spinning him around in a victory dance before turning away quickly, embarrassed.
They were cut short by Amy's cry. "Look!"
The dead lights of the Eclipse Cannon sparked, and flared alive again. "Emergency procedure activated. System running on reserve power. A.I. targeting system engaged. Calculating suitable position.." The massive gun transformed, like Robotnik's Egg Walker. The barrel receded into the base, which had grown two wings. The new construction looked like an enormous jet plane, with a double-barrel nose. "Initiating teleportation drives. " It dissipated, with a monstrous groan.
Silence and horror pounced on the group. No one knew what to say.
Tekno spoke. "Robotnik, does your craft work in a vacuum?" Robotnik shook his head, cursing himself audibly. "In that case," continued Tekno, "We're stuck."
"Could we find some space suits?" asked Rouge.
"Take too long, and we wouldn't be able to stop the gun with those things on." Said Robotnik. "What we need," he paled visibly, his voice becoming more timid, "is SuperSonic."
Everyone turned to Sonic, Shadow and Rouge confused. "What? What makes you think Super could survive in deep space?" asked Tekno.
"I've studied this. SuperSonic exists as energy, very little of his body is solid. He could survive without air for a long period of time."
"Who the heck is SuperSonic?" Rouge's question was ignored. Sonic shook his head.
"No way. You all know what Super's like. I could kill the lot of you."
Amy spoke up. "I saw Porker's experiments. That theory about Super's personality."
"Theories aren't facts. It's too much of a risk."
"It sounded real enough. Knuckles, have you been feeling any weird things recently? Like Chaos energy?"
Sonic interrupted Knuckles' reply. "It's still not proof."
"Just try. You have to."
Sonic stopped himself. He tried to stay calm. "Okay, but you stay back, just in case."
"What are you all talking about?" interrupted Shadow. Sonic thought for a moment.
"Actually, you'd better come with me."
"To do what?" demanded Shadow and Rouge together.
"Just touch the Master Emerald, and whatever you do, never stop thinking of the Eclipse Cannon." Shadow complied, mystified.
Simultaneously, he and Sonic picked up the Emerald.
It was like grabbing a live wire. His chest swelled, as if he was breathing in deeply, but he couldn't breathe out. He couldn't even stop, even when it felt as if his body was dissolving. But it wasn't air inside him, it was pure Chaos energy. Shadow closed his eyes in silent agony, and opened them to see Sonic opposite him. The hedgehog had his eyes closed too, and the green lightning of the Emerald playing over him, melting into his clenched face. The cobalt blue spines were splayed every other tone of blue by the Emerald's light, and began swimming in waves around Sonic's head, one colour washing over another right up to the tip of each spike.
As Shadow watched, the ocean became lighter and lighter; he could feel the same thing happening to himself. The energy inside him grew and grew, unstoppably. Shadow resolutely clamped his mouth and eyes shut, locking the power in.
It raged and pounded, more and more and more.. Until he couldn't keep it trapped any longer.
He let out an earth-shattering roar, the Chaos energy exploding out of him, throwing his body high into the air like a rag doll.
Then it was all over.
Shadow opened his eyes. The pain had gone, leaving only a curious freedom. Power rolled over him; ready to do whatever he told it to. He looked around, at Sonic.
Sonic stood, his spikes crooked, blasted out of shape. His skin was alight, burning every shade of yellow, white and gold. His eyes were now fiery rubies. Shadow glanced at his arm. It was burning, too, only silver and grey.
He had discovered the true ultimate power. He was SuperShadow.
Everyone was watching Sonic, intently. The golden hedgehog just stood, then slowly raised a gloved hand, and examined it.
"Sonic?" ventured Amy. Sonic turned his head, everyone except Rouge jumped back, into a fighting stance.
"Yeah. Weird." Shadow was curious.
"What's so weird?"
Sonic turned, "Normally, when I go Super like this, I can't control myself. I just become mindlessly destructive."
Tekno had been fiddling with her little box. "Uh, guys, the Eclipse Cannon will be in position by now. Hurry up!"
SuperSonic and SuperShadow nodded. "Chaos Control!"
They were gone, leaving a very confused group of Mobians.
SuperSonic hovered above the ARK, scanning the sky. He could see millions, billions of stars, tiny galaxies surrounding them like glowing chalk dust. Comets and novas appeared and disappeared into the black background, which was split up with brilliant navy gas clouds.
Mobius hung a long way below him, outshining everything around it. One of its two moons was visible, setting behind the planet. Shadow prodded him, pointing away from the globe to the asteroid field behind them. The black rocks bounced around in a whirlpool, occasionally glinting orange as the sun's light illuminated them. The shadow of the Eclipse Cannon could be just seen beyond it.
" ," said Sonic. The machine must have teleported itself too far away; it wouldn't be able to aim from there. That gave them a little more time.
Shadow and Sonic jumped into the vacuum, flying toward the asteroids with gold and silver stars trailing in their wake.
"There." Said Robotnik, as he and Tekno finished their wiring. "We've managed to view the outer surveillance cameras." He pressed a button on his Egg Walker and a projection materialised on the wall. It showed Mobius and its sun behind it. It vaporised into an image of deep space, which changed to a picture of Mobius' first moon engulfed by the horizon of the planet. Robotnik flicked through many images, before finding Sonic and Shadow.
They were flying away from Mobius, toward its asteroid belt. "I make it four minutes until the gun fires. It'll have some problems targeting from behind the asteroids."
Knuckles gritted his teeth, worried. "Will they get there in time, with all the rocks in the way?"
"We'll just have to see." Said Rouge from behind him.
" !" Cursed SuperShadow, as he ploughed into a rock the size of a house. He curled into a ball, smashing through the obstacle. He could see Sonic up ahead, a gold glint zipping in between the boulders. Shadow picked up speed, tearing through the field, hopping around, between, above or below the stones at about mach three. Every time he lost concentration, even for half a second, he would crash into a rock, painfully.
He couldn't afford to waste time. The Cannon didn't seem to come any closer, and he could feel his power draining away. He doubted he had any more then two minutes to go.
He increased his speed, overtaking Sonic.
Sonic winced as he hit his head on a large rock. Normally things like that didn't affect him when he was Super, but he had been going at about three times the speed of sound. Sonic tried to rub it, but another rock crashed into his foot, sending him spinning into chaos.
He had a jumbled up view of a boulder bigger then the ARK careering towards him. He fired a Chaos blast from his eyes, and tucked himself into a super spin attack. He felt the stone crumbling around him; there was a second of complete darkness before he was out the other side.
The Eclipse Cannon dangled just ahead, mini jets on its base keeping it perfectly still. Sonic turned, to see another explosion erupting from the asteroid. The sight of clouds and clouds of rock and dust billowing out in complete silence made Sonic feel uneasy. A glint of silver sparked, and Shadow flew out to join him.
" !" He mouthed 'hurry up!' and Sonic turned back to the gun, quickly.
"Half a minute." Tekno's frightened voice rang throughout the room. Amy was praying quietly, Robotnik and Shortfuse were watching the video camera, but had had to zoom in. The image continually flicked black as a meteorite covered it.
Rouge gulped, catching Knuckles' eye. He shrugged helplessly.
The most annoying thing was there was nothing any of them could do.
A volley of cobalt blue bolts homed in on them. One hit Sonic's hand, and weariness swept through it.
"It must be using shots that cancel out Chaos energy," he yelled. Not a sound came out, of course, but Shadow nodded to show he'd come to the same conclusion.
Sonic dived and climbed at supersonic speed. The Eclipse Cannon loomed above him.
" !" He yelled, smashing a Super spin attack straight into the bottom of the craft. He flew out, to see the Cannon ejecting from the base, which was bent and contorted out of shape. It was still working though, and continued to fire at the two hedgehogs. Sonic was impressed and annoyed. Not many machines could survive a Super spin attack.
Sonic charged, dodging left and right, and hit the metal straight on. He began ripping as much as he could out of the machine, punching, tearing, biting. He let himself drift away, the useless base falling to pieces around him.
He caught Shadow's eye. Panic, horror were etched all over it as the hedgehog urgently pointed.
Sonic looked over at the Eclipse Cannon. A pure white beam lengthened, in slow motion, out of the end.
It happened too fast to see. Shadow fired off as fast as he could, racing the laser. He pulled ahead of it, and spun round, taking its full force.
Sonic saw pure white explosion after explosion detonating around the hedgehog, but Shadow refused to let himself fall, keeping a steady Chaos barrier against the Cannon's ceaseless barrage.
Sonic immediately charged at the gun, smashing and ripping into it in a ball of fury. The Cannon's beam petered out, before it was blown abruptly apart. Sonic wearily emerged from the wreckage, his gold fur now a dulled bronze.
He had only had to 'explode' himself once before, which had drained all the energy out of him completely. Back then, he had not had his normal, blue body to return to, and had nearly disappeared forever. This time, he hoped, he would just become blue once again.
Sonic sped back to Shadow, feeling his power draining quickly away. Shadow gradually uncurled, and looked at Sonic. Sonic held out his hand, but Shadow shook his head, sadly. Then, the silvery-white of his body trickling back to black, he sluggishly fell away, increasing speed as he came closer and closer to Mobius.
Sonic watched, tears floating in minuscule glass balls around his
head. He shook them off, and turned back to the ARK. Shadow hadn't
made it. Could he?
He dropped down, using more Mobius' gravity then his power, and gathered the pitiful remains of his Chaos energy inside him.
Robotnik zoomed the camera out, in time to see the Eclipse Cannon's death. An ecstatic, relieved cheer went up from everyone aboard.
"They did it! I knew they would!" Amy's voice stopped, suddenly, as she made out the two heroes plummeting towards the planet.
"I'm reading barely any Chaos energy," said Tekno. "I don't think they can get back."
Amy's triumph evaporated. "Are there any space craft here? Can we go out and get them?"
Robotnik shook his head. "They're stored in the other side of the ship, I checked. There were damaged by G.U.N.'s attack. By the time we'd put one back together, they'd have landed."
Amy looked at Robotnik suspiciously. If Sonic were to die whilst saving Mobius, Robotnik would soon be able to take over again. "What about the ships we came in? Ours was okay. We could fly out in that."
"Well."
"Fine, you lot can stay here. I'm going to rescue Sonic." Amy ran to the door, and collided headfirst with Sonic.
The blue animal looked at her, blearily, and toppled to the floor. His fur was a dull blue-grey, and he wasn't breathing. Amy, Knuckles and Rouge ran to him, Tekno checked her computer. "His signature's completely blank. Quick, get a Chaos Emerald, or he'll die!"
Rouge handed one to Amy, who gently pushed into Sonic's limp hand. Colour washed back into Sonic's fur, and he blinked, opened his eyes.
"Sonic! You're alive!"
"I think so."
Rouge asked softly. "What happened to Shadow?" Sonic just shook his head, sadly, and tried to stand up. Amy supported him.
Sonic stared out of the window, at planet Mobius. He thought he caught a flash of silver, and then Shadow was gone forever.
Part 6: The Whole World in His Hands
The ARK space station tumbled lazily through its orbit, shining silver against inky space. The station itself was a large sphere, circled by a cluster of cylinders and cubes. A tiny rocket protruded from the station, like a thorn in its side. Another, smaller ship flittered past it, disappearing into the mass of metal.
"We're in." Said Sonic, looking around the landing bay. It was just a dull grey cave, with a small lift in the wall. He found his eyes constantly darting up, towards the main base. "This way." He said, with a weird, inexplicable certainty.
Tekno looked at him, doubtfully. "How do you know?"
"It is." Affirmed a voice behind Sonic. He turned around in surprise. Knuckles bashed his fists together, staring around, alert. "Do you think Robotnik can see us?"
"Probably." Tekno pointed to the small, capsule-like lift. "If you two are right, that's the way to go."
Shadow was sitting on his bed, restlessly. His quarters were tiny, just a bed, a small white table and chair, a clock and a bookcase. The only door was locked.
Doctor Gerald had locked him in here six nights in a row, now. Every night, Shadow would pace and wonder, never able to sleep. Every morning, when the clock read: 09:00, the door would flick open and Gerald would enter in his white coat, and Shadow would walk out to face the trials of the day.
The first day had been the most uncertain. The human, Gerald, had taken him to a larger, plastic room, and asked him who he was and what he was. Shadow had answered, the knowledge materializing in his head. He could not say how he knew, and Gerald had not asked him. The second day they had made him run an obstacle course, and destroy many robots. The third day, they had showed him a glittering Chaos Emerald, and he had drawn power from it. Names and terms sprang to Shadow's mind every time he looked at something, and he began to understand what was happening.
He was being tested, he realised, by Gerald and the other scientists. He realised that he had powers they didn't, that he could run fast, and manipulate the energy in the bizarre, sparkling Chaos Emerald. He realised that the scientists did not know that he realised this.
He also realised that no one knew how powerful he could be. He had decided to find out.
And he had. He concentrated, felt the warm energy roaring inside him. and forced it all back into himself. He saw a flash of green, and the room changed position; he was now standing the other side of it. Teleportation, that was his special power. The ultimate control of Chaos energy.
He looked at his clock. 01:12. The middle of the night, when Gerald would be asleep. He gathered his energy again, and focussed on the other side of the door.
With a flash he was there. The corridor was lit only with a ghostly blue light, and shadows danced along the familiar path to Gerald's lab. Shadow found himself walking there unconsciously, and he stopped at the door.
A whole new sense of freedom dawned on him. He did not have to enter the lab, he could go where he wanted and no one could stop him. He ignored the door, and explored further down the corridor. It was filled with hundreds more, identical doors, each one could lead anywhere.
Shadow walked past them all, and found a lift at the end of the hall. With shaking hands he pushed the 'Floor 12' button, and jerked in shock as the pod shut, trapping him. The ground rolled beneath him, and he remembered what a lift was.
But he didn't remember it. He had never learnt it before. He resolved to find out where these memories came from.
The lift opened again, and he stepped into a wider corridor. A sign on the wall read: 'Residential Block'. He cautiously investigated further. There were fewer doors here, and they had windows. Shadow could see the scientists sleeping.
He was near the end of the hallway when the door in front of him opened. Panic hissed through him, but he had no time to hide; the hazy blue walkway offered no cover.
A human walked out of the room, and stopped dead. They stared at each other, fear thick inside them.
The human was a small girl, about Shadow's age. She wore dull green pyjamas and had bare feet. Shadow couldn't see her face in the darkness, but she had long, black hair. She spoke, her voice quaking with terror. Shadow realised that, with his unnatural black body and red eyes, he must look like a monster.
"Wh-What- who is that?"
He voice was quiet and timid. Shadow wondered who she was. She wasn't a scientist, and who else lived here?
She asked again, this time the fear and panic was strong in her voice. "Who is it? What do you want?" she raised a fist, nervously.
Shadow waited, couldn't trust himself to speak. "Don't worry. I won't hurt you." He was painfully aware of how menacing his sinister voice sounded in the semi-dark.
"Who are you? What are you doing here?" She swung a torch out, the beam blinding Shadow, pinpointing him in place. The human advanced, carefully. "You're a hedgehog. How did you get inside?"
Blind and confused, Shadow could think of no answer but honesty. "I-I don't know."
"Come out of the corridor, you might get caught." She showed Shadow into her room. It was much bigger then his, with tonnes of books, and a computer collecting dust in the corner. She switched a small glowlamp on. "My name's Maria. What's yours?"
"My name's Shadow. I-" he paused, but he felt that he could trust Maria. "I escaped from the science lab downstairs."
"Shadow.Shadow.You're Grandad's project, aren't you?"
Shadow could only nod, confused. Finally he said: "I am?"
"Yeah. He's been talking about you for weeks. Don't worry, I won't tell him." She added, seeing his concern. "So what's it like?"
"Weird. I just have to do these tests every day, and then I'm locked back in my room. There's not much else, really." Shadow became curious. " What are you doing here? You're not a scientist."
"I'm Doctor Gerald's granddaughter. I had to stay here after my parents disappeared. Grandad's given me loads of books and stuff to do, but it's really boring here. There's no one else to talk to."
A sharp bleep shattered Shadow's reminiscing. Robotnik's bushy face appeared on his watch-screen. His voice was flattened in the transmission, but there was no mistaking the urgency in it.
"Shadow! Rouge! We have intruders. Wherever you are, get up to the Control Room now. It should be ready in ten minutes-we have to hold Sonic and his crew off 'til then."
Shadow jogged back through the familiar passages. Nothing would stop him now, Maria would be avenged.
Discomfort twanged inside him. Was he doing the right thing? Of course he was. He had to be.
Shadow did not head straight to the Control Room. He had things to do first.
Sonic gaped in awe. The Control Room was a massive white hall, lined with terminals and control panels, all of them running automatically. A wide band of window circled the entire room, showing hundreds of tiny burning stars. In the centre of the hall was the mammoth Eclipse Cannon, on top of what appeared to be a lift capsule. Robotnik stood by it, with some bat. The egg- man turned, glaring at his enemy. His voice was a dagger of hate.
"Sonic! Popped around to save the day again, have you? Well you're too late- its mounted and ready to fire, and there's nothing you can do."
Knuckles was glaring at the bat, angrily. The two were talking but Sonic wasn't paying attention. Robotnik continued.
"Don't bother trying to smash it, Sonic, Gerald's shielding method's were ingeniously effective. Soon I will rule this planet once more!"
"You wish!"
"Oh, but I will! Any zone that dares to resist will be pulverised." Robotnik grinned. "I think that South Island will be the first to go." Before Sonic realised what he'd done, Robotnik had typed in the co- ordinates and stabbed the 'FIRE' button.
The gang watched in horror as the massive gun began to shudder. Power arced around its barrel, along the thick wires and cables, exploding inside the Emerald's containers like a miniscule fireworks display. Robotnik laughed maniacally.
"Watch and weep, outlaws, as your home is obliterated!"
Tekno yelled, over the hollering of the machine. "Robotnik, are you mad? Look at the power readings! That thing fires, it'll take out half the solar system!"
Comprehension dawned gradually on Robotnik's face.
"Whaaat! But-but Shadow said." Realisation struck home. "SHADOW!"
The dazzling strip-lights died, plunging the room in darkness. A black blur shot like an arrow into the Eclipse Cannon. Shadow the Hedgehog stabbed a series of controls, and turned away, to face the others. "Controls locked. Ten minutes until firing."
Shortfuse bellowed. "You'll kill us all! What the hell are you doing?"
"I'll tell you what he's doing." Everyone turned. Rouge the Bat pulled a stocky metal disc from her green denim jacket. "I found this in Shadow's bag." Glowering at the hedgehog, she switched it on.
A large holographic image appeared in the air above her, focussing into a head.
Dr Gerald Kintobor hovered, his silver moustache spraying white light over them all.
"I am Kintobor, and these are my final words. My scientists are scheduled to be executed today, and the military have located my hiding place. I have two hours before they arrive.
"Why? Because the fools of this world are afraid of my work. For months, I have dreamed of reaching the boundaries of natural ability, of creating the world's ultimate life form. I began my project by trying to breach reality, to build a creature that could defy the laws of physics. After many failures, I produced a cat, called Simpson. However, further study proved that the animal was underdeveloped in its control of its power.
"Then I found what true power was. My son had found seven ancient stones, containing a strange new energy. This so-called 'Chaos' energy was the key to my success. I created a creature capable of manipulating it, named Shadow the Hedgehog.
"Everything was a glorious triumph, until the military, G.U.N., found out about my plan. Cowardly fearing anything that could possibly harm them, they told me to destroy my findings. I refused, and they attacked my installation, killing hundreds of people. I managed to evacuate myself, my granddaughter Maria and Shadow to one of my older projects, a space colony, ARK. I hoped that there we could live in safety, but it was not to be.
"G.U.N. attacked my station, murdering my granddaughter. Shadow and I escaped, and went into hiding. I now understood the evil of this world, and, though I was likely to die, I would bring it to an end. I have designed and built one final invention. A gun that will destroy the entire planet.
"Shadow, I have sent you into cryogenic sleep and disguised the chamber. That way G.U.N. will not destroy you. I have told you all this because I do not know if you will retain your memory when you wake up.
"Shadow, you are to find the Eclipse Cannon. There is a map showing where it is in the chamber. Find the Eclipse Cannon, and activate it. Destroy this evil planet once and for all."
The image blurred, and disappeared. A thick silence settled slowly.
Questions and answers careered in a whirlpool in everyone's brain. Simultaneously, the maelstrom crystallised into one clear point: The planet was destroyed in ten minutes.
"C'mon, guys. We have to smash this gun now, before it can shoot!" Sonic yelled. As if in response, the Cannon spoke in a smooth, synthesised voice.
"Calculations complete. Proceeding to aiming point." The Cannon suddenly twitched, and its makeshift pedestal whirred to life, firing up through the ceiling with Chaos enhanced power. It left a jagged hole.
Sonic wasted no time; Amy saw the blue blur demolish a door without stopping to open it. She saw Knuckles begin to follow.
"Knuckles," Amy turned to see the white bat that had stolen Gerald's recording. "We'd do better to follow it through the hole." Knuckles regarded her doubtfully, then agreed. She grabbed his hand. "Hold on."
The bat flew straight up, chasing the Eclipse Cannon. Tekno and Shortfuse had charged to another door, but Robotnik was in the way.
"Don't go that way. We need to intercept it, follow me."
"What? Why should we trust you?" Somehow, amidst all the mayhem, Robotnik found the time to impale them with a contemptuous sneer.
"Look, fool. If the world gets blown to bits, what have I got left to rule?" Before she'd even drawn her crossbow, Amy found herself alone. Nearly alone.
Shadow stood, a silhouette by the window, gazing out into space. He watched, numbly, as the countless pinpoints lit up the void. Every now and then, a comet would streak across the starscape, dying into the blackness. Maria's last words ricocheted insistently inside his head.
A rustle betrayed someone behind him. He turned, dully. It was Sonic's friend, the pink hedgehog. He would have said something insulting, or triumphant, but he did not have the energy. He did not feel triumphant. He felt uneasy, and weary, sick of this planet, this life.
"Shadow? Why are you doing this?"
Shadow scowled. "You heard the tape, didn't you?"
"You're destroying the world, just because Gerald told you to?" She scowled too. "That's pathetic. If you were any match of Sonic's, you'd stand up for yourself."
"I'm not doing this for Kintobor." Shadow turned back to the window, so she didn't see his expression. "Maria asked me to."
Sonic's friend thought for a moment. "Maria. Gerald's granddaughter?" Shadow nodded. Then, for some reason, he spoke again.
"She was my only friend in that place, and I'll do what she asked."
There was a short, difficult silence.
"She didn't tell you to do this, surely." Shadow was about to answer, but stopped. Maria's last cry for revenge.
"Look, I know the humans did evil things to you, but they only live in a tiny piece of the world. The rest of us didn't do anything wrong."
Shadow wasn't really listening. The last word.REVENGE. it had been Gerald's voice.
"We aren't humans. We don't kill just for fun. We hate anyone's death as much as you hated Maria's."
Suddenly, understanding shattered into Shadow. He remembered Maria's death, mentally removing Gerald's voiceover.
Her voice grew fainter. "Shadow. please, look after grandpa. Don't let them get him, too. And." She struggled, her final words a murmur. "If you survive.do your best.see that..the world has."
Her voice faded out to a sigh, "..the world ..has.. protection..Don't let.. something. like this ever happen ..again."
Shadow drew a long, halting breath; Amy stopped her speech, apprehensive. Very slowly, Shadow said:
"Ohh.Heck!" Suddenly, he was off down a corridor. He had to stop the Cannon. there must be a way.
Shadow tore up a flight of stairs like black lightning. He would fulfil Maria's wish.
Sonic was halfway up a blurred hallway, when a sable shape drew level.
"Need a hand, Sonic?"
Sonic glanced over in surprise. "Shadow! But you-"
"Your girlfriend persuaded me to help."
"Look, pal. She is not my girlfriend."
"Sure looks like it to me. We need to get to the top floor. Ready?"
"As ever."
There were two jade explosions, two yells of: "Chaos Control!" and the stairway was empty.
Sonic and Shadow appeared, just in time to see their target poke its head through the floor. Sonic screamed in anger, he and Shadow spin attacked straight towards the gun. Sonic found himself bashed roughly backwards, unravelling and hitting the floor in surprise. His back and spines ached insistently, refusing to quieten down.
"Attackers recorded. Initiating Defence System Alpha." The Eclipse Cannon was now hiding inside a hazy blue bubble. The machine continued its ascent, climbing slowly but surely to the roof, which would open into nothing but space.
"We have to stop it!" Shadow picked himself up from the other side of the storage room, sitting on a heap of plastic food containers. Robotnik and Shortfuse burst in from the door next to him.
"We'll handle this, stay back!" and the two enemies began firing bolt after bolt into the shield. Each bolt refracted, disappearing in a kaleidoscope of scarlet light. Tekno ran through the door, followed by Amy.
The gun continued to rise. It was now level with the floor. "You lot'll never beat it like that. Hang on a minute."
Tekno stabbed a series of controls on her little box, and the shield spluttered, collapsing in on the gun, fading out like mist.
"Defences breached. Activating Aggressive Defence Beta." A cobalt blue laser shot knocked the box out of Tekno's hands, the few remains scattered to the floor. Dozens of small gun turrets had emerged from inside the structure. Suddenly the room was a madhouse of blue and red.
Sonic crouched at the corner of the room, not yet targeted by the Cannon. Irritation welled up. What was Sonic the Hedgehog, Hero of Mobius doing hiding on the edge of a fight? Sonic saw one of the tiny cannons at the base of the gun, and with a whirl of blue and spikes, it was a crumpled mess.
Shadow grinned, following Sonic's example. Robotnik and Shortfuse continued to distract the machine while the two hedgehogs took out the defences.
"Hurry up!" called Amy, taking out another little turret with her crossbow. "At this rate, we won't make it in time."
She was right; the machine was nearly touching the roof now. Under it, Knuckles' face was gritted in intense anger as he and Rouge hung on to the lift/pedestal. They were fruitlessly hammering the capsule, unable to stop it. "Knuckles!" Tekno yelled. "You two! Get the Emeralds out of the containers. We'll all cover for you."
Knuckles heard Tekno, and let go of the elevator, gliding to the ground. Rouge landed next to him, her wing hanging at an odd angle. He felt guilty about hurting her, but she didn't comment.
"Knuckles, you take the right side, I'll do the left. Watch out, those cables are electrified." Knuckles obediently jogged to the nearest case. He stamped on a mini gun tower, his solid shoes mashing it. He ducked as another shot whizzed over his head to join the pandemonium behind him.
The Emeralds were set around the circular swivel, each jar attached to two thick wires, which ran up to the giant barrel.
He struggled to grab the power cord attacked to the casing; his padded gloves made gripping difficult. Knuckles ripped the ropes off the metal surface, roaring as the Emerald's container shattered around his other fist. The glasslike plastic bounced off his thick fur, the red Emerald fell to the ground with a clink.
One down, six to go. A black power outlet dissolved in flames next to him. He turned to see Shortfuse give a thumbs up.
Sonic smashed another gun tower. "Enjoying yourself?" asked Knuckles.
"Yep. Bad luck, you got the boring job." Sonic leapt away, yelling: "You never were as stylish as yours truly!"
"Speedfreak!" Knuckles tore out a rung from a ladder embedded in the base. "Let's see you do this, hedgehog!" Dodging a volley of lasers, Knuckles hurled the crude boomerang. It splintered into the next Emerald jar, the electrified force field cascading white lightning across it. The stick hit the Emerald, spinning around its round top and hurtling towards the next case.
From the other side of the room, Sonic whistled as the rod smashed around the gun, freeing four Emeralds. It continued, narrowly missing Rouge. "Watch it!"
Knuckles smirked triumphantly at Sonic, then became serious. They were still saving the world, no matter how much they mucked around. Rouge ran up, surveying Knuckles' work. "Good. Now we've just got that thing to worry about." The echidna looked up, to see the Master Emerald. It was hanging from the barrel of the Cannon, flailing on the end of just a couple of shabby cables. Robotnik had been very rushed to attach the jewel.
"Leave that to us." Sonic dived under a salvo of blue bolts, rolled, and came up next to Shadow. The two hedgehogs ran, falling into blue and black razorblades. They sped passed Knuckles like motorbikes, slicing the Master Emerald free in an instant.
The racket of battle withered and died.
Realisation dawned, melting into ecstasy. "We won! We Won!"
Sonic and Shadow leapt in the air, performing a flying high five and flipping 360 degrees to the ground.
Shortfuse and Robotnik fired a four-gun salute, into the ceiling.
Rouge grabbed Knuckles' hands, spinning him around in a victory dance before turning away quickly, embarrassed.
They were cut short by Amy's cry. "Look!"
The dead lights of the Eclipse Cannon sparked, and flared alive again. "Emergency procedure activated. System running on reserve power. A.I. targeting system engaged. Calculating suitable position.." The massive gun transformed, like Robotnik's Egg Walker. The barrel receded into the base, which had grown two wings. The new construction looked like an enormous jet plane, with a double-barrel nose. "Initiating teleportation drives. " It dissipated, with a monstrous groan.
Silence and horror pounced on the group. No one knew what to say.
Tekno spoke. "Robotnik, does your craft work in a vacuum?" Robotnik shook his head, cursing himself audibly. "In that case," continued Tekno, "We're stuck."
"Could we find some space suits?" asked Rouge.
"Take too long, and we wouldn't be able to stop the gun with those things on." Said Robotnik. "What we need," he paled visibly, his voice becoming more timid, "is SuperSonic."
Everyone turned to Sonic, Shadow and Rouge confused. "What? What makes you think Super could survive in deep space?" asked Tekno.
"I've studied this. SuperSonic exists as energy, very little of his body is solid. He could survive without air for a long period of time."
"Who the heck is SuperSonic?" Rouge's question was ignored. Sonic shook his head.
"No way. You all know what Super's like. I could kill the lot of you."
Amy spoke up. "I saw Porker's experiments. That theory about Super's personality."
"Theories aren't facts. It's too much of a risk."
"It sounded real enough. Knuckles, have you been feeling any weird things recently? Like Chaos energy?"
Sonic interrupted Knuckles' reply. "It's still not proof."
"Just try. You have to."
Sonic stopped himself. He tried to stay calm. "Okay, but you stay back, just in case."
"What are you all talking about?" interrupted Shadow. Sonic thought for a moment.
"Actually, you'd better come with me."
"To do what?" demanded Shadow and Rouge together.
"Just touch the Master Emerald, and whatever you do, never stop thinking of the Eclipse Cannon." Shadow complied, mystified.
Simultaneously, he and Sonic picked up the Emerald.
It was like grabbing a live wire. His chest swelled, as if he was breathing in deeply, but he couldn't breathe out. He couldn't even stop, even when it felt as if his body was dissolving. But it wasn't air inside him, it was pure Chaos energy. Shadow closed his eyes in silent agony, and opened them to see Sonic opposite him. The hedgehog had his eyes closed too, and the green lightning of the Emerald playing over him, melting into his clenched face. The cobalt blue spines were splayed every other tone of blue by the Emerald's light, and began swimming in waves around Sonic's head, one colour washing over another right up to the tip of each spike.
As Shadow watched, the ocean became lighter and lighter; he could feel the same thing happening to himself. The energy inside him grew and grew, unstoppably. Shadow resolutely clamped his mouth and eyes shut, locking the power in.
It raged and pounded, more and more and more.. Until he couldn't keep it trapped any longer.
He let out an earth-shattering roar, the Chaos energy exploding out of him, throwing his body high into the air like a rag doll.
Then it was all over.
Shadow opened his eyes. The pain had gone, leaving only a curious freedom. Power rolled over him; ready to do whatever he told it to. He looked around, at Sonic.
Sonic stood, his spikes crooked, blasted out of shape. His skin was alight, burning every shade of yellow, white and gold. His eyes were now fiery rubies. Shadow glanced at his arm. It was burning, too, only silver and grey.
He had discovered the true ultimate power. He was SuperShadow.
Everyone was watching Sonic, intently. The golden hedgehog just stood, then slowly raised a gloved hand, and examined it.
"Sonic?" ventured Amy. Sonic turned his head, everyone except Rouge jumped back, into a fighting stance.
"Yeah. Weird." Shadow was curious.
"What's so weird?"
Sonic turned, "Normally, when I go Super like this, I can't control myself. I just become mindlessly destructive."
Tekno had been fiddling with her little box. "Uh, guys, the Eclipse Cannon will be in position by now. Hurry up!"
SuperSonic and SuperShadow nodded. "Chaos Control!"
They were gone, leaving a very confused group of Mobians.
SuperSonic hovered above the ARK, scanning the sky. He could see millions, billions of stars, tiny galaxies surrounding them like glowing chalk dust. Comets and novas appeared and disappeared into the black background, which was split up with brilliant navy gas clouds.
Mobius hung a long way below him, outshining everything around it. One of its two moons was visible, setting behind the planet. Shadow prodded him, pointing away from the globe to the asteroid field behind them. The black rocks bounced around in a whirlpool, occasionally glinting orange as the sun's light illuminated them. The shadow of the Eclipse Cannon could be just seen beyond it.
" ," said Sonic. The machine must have teleported itself too far away; it wouldn't be able to aim from there. That gave them a little more time.
Shadow and Sonic jumped into the vacuum, flying toward the asteroids with gold and silver stars trailing in their wake.
"There." Said Robotnik, as he and Tekno finished their wiring. "We've managed to view the outer surveillance cameras." He pressed a button on his Egg Walker and a projection materialised on the wall. It showed Mobius and its sun behind it. It vaporised into an image of deep space, which changed to a picture of Mobius' first moon engulfed by the horizon of the planet. Robotnik flicked through many images, before finding Sonic and Shadow.
They were flying away from Mobius, toward its asteroid belt. "I make it four minutes until the gun fires. It'll have some problems targeting from behind the asteroids."
Knuckles gritted his teeth, worried. "Will they get there in time, with all the rocks in the way?"
"We'll just have to see." Said Rouge from behind him.
" !" Cursed SuperShadow, as he ploughed into a rock the size of a house. He curled into a ball, smashing through the obstacle. He could see Sonic up ahead, a gold glint zipping in between the boulders. Shadow picked up speed, tearing through the field, hopping around, between, above or below the stones at about mach three. Every time he lost concentration, even for half a second, he would crash into a rock, painfully.
He couldn't afford to waste time. The Cannon didn't seem to come any closer, and he could feel his power draining away. He doubted he had any more then two minutes to go.
He increased his speed, overtaking Sonic.
Sonic winced as he hit his head on a large rock. Normally things like that didn't affect him when he was Super, but he had been going at about three times the speed of sound. Sonic tried to rub it, but another rock crashed into his foot, sending him spinning into chaos.
He had a jumbled up view of a boulder bigger then the ARK careering towards him. He fired a Chaos blast from his eyes, and tucked himself into a super spin attack. He felt the stone crumbling around him; there was a second of complete darkness before he was out the other side.
The Eclipse Cannon dangled just ahead, mini jets on its base keeping it perfectly still. Sonic turned, to see another explosion erupting from the asteroid. The sight of clouds and clouds of rock and dust billowing out in complete silence made Sonic feel uneasy. A glint of silver sparked, and Shadow flew out to join him.
" !" He mouthed 'hurry up!' and Sonic turned back to the gun, quickly.
"Half a minute." Tekno's frightened voice rang throughout the room. Amy was praying quietly, Robotnik and Shortfuse were watching the video camera, but had had to zoom in. The image continually flicked black as a meteorite covered it.
Rouge gulped, catching Knuckles' eye. He shrugged helplessly.
The most annoying thing was there was nothing any of them could do.
A volley of cobalt blue bolts homed in on them. One hit Sonic's hand, and weariness swept through it.
"It must be using shots that cancel out Chaos energy," he yelled. Not a sound came out, of course, but Shadow nodded to show he'd come to the same conclusion.
Sonic dived and climbed at supersonic speed. The Eclipse Cannon loomed above him.
" !" He yelled, smashing a Super spin attack straight into the bottom of the craft. He flew out, to see the Cannon ejecting from the base, which was bent and contorted out of shape. It was still working though, and continued to fire at the two hedgehogs. Sonic was impressed and annoyed. Not many machines could survive a Super spin attack.
Sonic charged, dodging left and right, and hit the metal straight on. He began ripping as much as he could out of the machine, punching, tearing, biting. He let himself drift away, the useless base falling to pieces around him.
He caught Shadow's eye. Panic, horror were etched all over it as the hedgehog urgently pointed.
Sonic looked over at the Eclipse Cannon. A pure white beam lengthened, in slow motion, out of the end.
It happened too fast to see. Shadow fired off as fast as he could, racing the laser. He pulled ahead of it, and spun round, taking its full force.
Sonic saw pure white explosion after explosion detonating around the hedgehog, but Shadow refused to let himself fall, keeping a steady Chaos barrier against the Cannon's ceaseless barrage.
Sonic immediately charged at the gun, smashing and ripping into it in a ball of fury. The Cannon's beam petered out, before it was blown abruptly apart. Sonic wearily emerged from the wreckage, his gold fur now a dulled bronze.
He had only had to 'explode' himself once before, which had drained all the energy out of him completely. Back then, he had not had his normal, blue body to return to, and had nearly disappeared forever. This time, he hoped, he would just become blue once again.
Sonic sped back to Shadow, feeling his power draining quickly away. Shadow gradually uncurled, and looked at Sonic. Sonic held out his hand, but Shadow shook his head, sadly. Then, the silvery-white of his body trickling back to black, he sluggishly fell away, increasing speed as he came closer and closer to Mobius.
Sonic watched, tears floating in minuscule glass balls around his
head. He shook them off, and turned back to the ARK. Shadow hadn't
made it. Could he?
He dropped down, using more Mobius' gravity then his power, and gathered the pitiful remains of his Chaos energy inside him.
Robotnik zoomed the camera out, in time to see the Eclipse Cannon's death. An ecstatic, relieved cheer went up from everyone aboard.
"They did it! I knew they would!" Amy's voice stopped, suddenly, as she made out the two heroes plummeting towards the planet.
"I'm reading barely any Chaos energy," said Tekno. "I don't think they can get back."
Amy's triumph evaporated. "Are there any space craft here? Can we go out and get them?"
Robotnik shook his head. "They're stored in the other side of the ship, I checked. There were damaged by G.U.N.'s attack. By the time we'd put one back together, they'd have landed."
Amy looked at Robotnik suspiciously. If Sonic were to die whilst saving Mobius, Robotnik would soon be able to take over again. "What about the ships we came in? Ours was okay. We could fly out in that."
"Well."
"Fine, you lot can stay here. I'm going to rescue Sonic." Amy ran to the door, and collided headfirst with Sonic.
The blue animal looked at her, blearily, and toppled to the floor. His fur was a dull blue-grey, and he wasn't breathing. Amy, Knuckles and Rouge ran to him, Tekno checked her computer. "His signature's completely blank. Quick, get a Chaos Emerald, or he'll die!"
Rouge handed one to Amy, who gently pushed into Sonic's limp hand. Colour washed back into Sonic's fur, and he blinked, opened his eyes.
"Sonic! You're alive!"
"I think so."
Rouge asked softly. "What happened to Shadow?" Sonic just shook his head, sadly, and tried to stand up. Amy supported him.
Sonic stared out of the window, at planet Mobius. He thought he caught a flash of silver, and then Shadow was gone forever.
